Report on the Collaborative Science and Technology Workshop on “Seismic Fragility of Urban
Buildings and Infrastructure”
Report prepared by Dr Tiziana Rossetto, Dr Dina D’Ayala and Dr Philippe Duffour
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, UCL
Executive Summary
A workshop on the “Seismic Fragility of Urban Buildings and Infrastructure”, funded by the French
Embassy, was held on the 10th-11th July 2013 in Room 102, Chadwick Building, University College
London. The original aims of the workshop were:
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To promote collaboration on topics of seismic fragility assessment of urban buildings and
infrastructure between UCL, BRGM, University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and University of
Strasbourg.
To consolidate and build on existing collaborations between the Partners.
To explore new research areas on non-earthquake and multi-hazard fragility assessment.
To identify avenues of funding for future collaborative projects.
The workshop was attended by 5 academics and researchers from France, with 4 attending from BRGM
and 1 from University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée. These were joined by 5 academics and 10 PhD students
from different Departments within UCL. Unfortunately, Professor Meghraoui of Strasbourg University
was unable to attend the workshop. The workshop is considered to have been extremely successful by all
participants, with all the objectives having been achieved and with a substantial number of initiatives for
future collaboration planned. Abstracts for joint publications have been submitted to a conference, and
exchanges and a follow-up workshop in France have been established.
Figure 1: Photo of the workshop participants in the UCL main quadrangle. Note: Dr Dina D’Ayala took
the photograph and Prof. Marek Ziebart, Prof. Peter Sammonds are not in the picture.
Workshop Programme
July 10th:
14:00-14:10 Welcome from the Vice Dean for Research of the UCL Engineering Faculty, Prof. Marek
Ziebart
14.10-18.00 Workshop 1: Capacity Assessment of Buildings
14.10-14.35 FRACAS: FRAgility from Capacity spectrum ASsessment approach and programme by T.Rossetto,
S.Minas, A.Nassirpour (UCL) and P.Gehl (BRGM)
14:35-15:05 The influence of ground-motion variability on fragility assessment by J.Douglas (BRGM)
15:05-15:30 Integrated risk assessment methods by A.Mebarki (U. P-E M-l-V)
15:30-17.00 Discussion on how to further collaborate and extend the programme of work
17.00-19.00 Workshop 2: Vulnerability of Masonry Structures
17:00-17.25 Tools for the fragility assessment of masonry buildings by D.D’Ayala (UCL)
17.25-17.50 BRGM work on Masonry fragility by T.Ulrich (BRGM)
17.50-19.00 Q & A and discussion on future research
19.30-22.00 Dinner at Tas Restaurant, Gower Street
July 11th:
09:00-09.25 Cascading Crises - Cohering Collaborations by Professor Peter Sammonds, Director of the UCL
Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
09.25-10.30 Workshop 3: Propagation of risk in the multi-hazard assessment of infrastructure
09.25-09.50 SYNER-G and the UCL BRGM work by P.Gehl (BRGM)
09.50-10.15 The INFRARISK project by D.D’Ayala (UCL)
10.15-10.30 Q and A
10:30-11:15 Parallel Discussion Sessions – Round 1
Session 1: Masonry Fragility
Session 2: Simplified Analysis Methods for Building Fragility
11:15-12:00 Parallel Discussion Sessions – Round 2
Session 1: Infrastructure Fragility
Session 2: Tsunami Fragility
12:00-13:00 Round-up discussions and Actions
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00 Departure
Participant List
Dr Dina D’Ayala, Reader in Structures, CEGE Department at UCL, Head of Structures, co-Director of
EPICentre Research Group.
Research Interests: Seismic vulnerability of existing low-engineered structures, field data collection, damage
assessment, retrofitting and strengthening. Conservation of historic structures.
Dr. John Douglas. Expert in seismic hazard assessment at BRGM, in the Seismic and Volcanic Risks
Unit, Risks and Prevention Division.
Principal area of research: Seismic hazard assessment, particularly ground-motion prediction
Dr Philippe Duffour, Lecturer in Structural Dynamics in CEGE Department at UCL.
Research interests: Structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, seismic performance of reinforced soils,
adaptive structures.
Dr. Evelyne Foerster. Deputy Director of the Risks and Prevention Division, BRGM.
Principal area of research: Numerical methods and modelling for Geosciences.
Pierre Gehl. Research Engineer in seismic vulnerability at BRGM, in the Seismic and Volcanic Risks
Unit, Risks and Prevention Division.
Principal area of research: vulnerability assessment, probabilistic approaches for seismic risk
Dr Ioanna Ioannou, post-doctoral researcher from the CEGE Department at UCL
Research interests: Empirical fragility and vulnerability, statistical modelling in structural analysis/reliability,
fragility analysis under multiple hazards.
Professor Ahmed Mebarki, Prof. Civil Engineering, Risk and Reliability, Structural Analysis, University
Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, France
Research interests: Structural vulnerability, structural analysis, risk & reliability analysis and simulations,
integrated probabilistic framework & modelling, domino effect, optimization.
Dr Abdelghani Meslem, post-doctoral researcher from the CEGE Department at UCL
Research interests: Structural dynamics, analytical fragility and vulnerability.
Dr Tristan Robinson, Teaching Felow in Fluid Mechanics and Post-doctoral researcher in UCL CEGE.
Research interests: Tsunami risk, fluid dynamics.
Dr Tiziana Rossetto. Reader in Earthquake Engineering the CEGE Department at UCL and Director
of EPICentre Research Group.
Research Interests: Fragility of buildings and infrastructure systems to earthquake excitation, tsunami impact
assessment, structural dynamics, earthquake risk perception.
Professor Peter Sammonds, Director of the UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction.
Research Interests: Seismology; Research into the mechanics of the Earth's crust and ice sheets through the
study of fundamental physics and mechanics of geological materials; The impacts of climate change and
natural hazards
Thomas Ulrich, Research Engineer at BRGM, in the Risks and Prevention Division
Principal area of research: vulnerability evaluation of existing buildings against seismic and landslide hazards,
numerical modelling of masonry
Professor Marek Ziebart. Professor of Space Geodesy, Director of the Space Geodesy and Navigation
Laboratory (SGNL) and Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences
Research Interests: Space Geodesy including spacecraft orbit determination and prediction; high precision
processing of GPS data (plate tectonics, earthquake cycle, tide gauge positioning); the definition of planet
scale reference frames and reference surfaces (height datums, gravity field models, inertial and planet
fixed reference frames); design and simulation of system architecture of navigation and positioning
systems for other planets.
PhD students:
Joakim Beck, Department of Statistics, UCL.
Arash Nassirpour, Stylianos Minas, Randolph Borg, Indranil Kongar, Joshua Macabuag, Tristan
Lloyd, Viviana Novelli, Atiyeh Ardakanian and Daniel Pohoryles, CEGE Department, UCL.
Initiatives for Future Collaboration
Specific research projects identified to take forward:
• “FRACAS – Fragility assessment software”. This is a joint UCL-BRGM software that has just
been developed and ideas for improving its functionality, as well as for its release to other
academics and industry were discussed.
• “Assessing the importance of spatial variability on empirical fragility curves”. UCL and BRGM
are to embark on a short term research project to explore this idea. The proposed methodology
for carrying out the research has already been drafted and is being discussed.
• “Developing empirical fragility functions for storage tanks, for tusnami”. Data on storage tanks
from Uni. Paris-Est will be used together with methods developed by UCL to construct empirical
fragility functions
• “Assessing the seismic vulnerability of masonry building cluster”. UCL and BRGM have been
working on this topic in the framework of the PERPETUATE project (www.perpetuate.eu) by
calibrating models performed by using the mechanical approach FaMIVE and the discrete
element method 3DEC to simulate collapse of buildings due to in-plane failures. A proposal to
expand the remit of this collaboration to investigate the effect of out of plane mechanisms on
masonry building cluster and pounding effects between adjacent buildings, has been discussed
and drafted during the workshop.
Conference papers leading to journal papers:
Four joint abstracts for conference papers, co-authored by UCL and BRGM have been submitted to the
Second International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management (ICVRAM2014) to take place
on 13 - 16 July 2014, at the University of Liverpool, UK. These have the following titles and authors:
“Sensitivity analysis of different capacity approaches to assumptions in the modeling, capacity and
demand representations“ Tiziana Rossetto1, Pierre Gehl2, Stylianos Minas1, Arash Nassirpour1, Philippe
Duffour1, Joshua Macabuag1, and John Douglas2 (1EPICentre, Department of Civil Environmental and Geomatic
Engineering, University College London;2Department of Risks and Prevention, BRGM, 3 avenue Claude-Guillemin, Orléans,
France)
“Investigating the use of record-to-record variability in static capacity approaches“, Pierre Gehl2, John
Douglas2, Tiziana Rossetto1, Joshua Macabuag1, Arash Nassirpour1, Stylianos Minas1 and Philippe Duffour1
(1EPICentre, Department of Civil Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London;2Department of Risks and
Prevention, BRGM, 3 avenue Claude-Guillemin, Orléans, France)
“Assessing the seismic vulnerability of masonry aggregates with different numerical methods”, Thomas
Ulrich2, Viviana Novelli1, Dina D’Ayala1, Caterina Negulescu2, Evelyn Foerster2,( 1EPICentre, Department of Civil
Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London;2Department of Risks and Prevention, BRGM, 3 avenue
Claude-Guillemin, Orléans, France)
“Parametric analysis of historic masonry building clusters subjected to pounding”, Viviana Novelli1, Dina
D’Ayala1, Thomas Ulrich2, Pierre Gehl2,( 1EPICentre, Department of Civil Environmental and Geomatic Engineering,
University College London;2Department of Risks and Prevention, BRGM, 3 avenue Claude-Guillemin, Orléans, France)
These will be further extended and submitted as journal papers.
Furthermore UCL members may be providing short contributions to the following publication of Professor
Mebarki, University Pari-Est:
• A journal paper on Resilience for the special ASCE issue (coordinated by Gian-Paolo Cimellaro from
Politecnico Torino)
• A chapter of a monograph on "Tsunamis: restoration and reconstruction".
Researcher exchanges/employment for new research projects
At the workshop it was agreed that the following researchers would spend time at one of the other
institutions on particular projects
• Dr Ioanna Ioannou, UCL, will spend 1 week at BRGM at the end of August to work on the
research project “Assessing the importance of spatial variability on empirical fragility curves”.
Ioana’s subsistence and travel will be funded from one of Dr Rossetto’s funded EPSRC projects.
• Viviana Novelli of UCL will apply for the Graduate School funding for Research Students
provided by UCL to spend up to 3 months at BRGM in 2014 to work on the seismic
vulnerability assessment of masonry building clusters
• Thomas Ulrich of BRGM will apply for CARNOT funding to spend 3 months at UCL in 2014,
to work on masonry fragility
• Stylianos Minas will visit BRGM over the next year/2 years to collaborate on FRACAS
development, funded by his PhD scholarship funds
In addition, the possibility of Mr Pierre Gehl of BRGM undertaking a PhD at UCL is currently being
explored. Other opportunities for funding the exchange of students with University of Paris-Est will be
explored also.
Follow-up workshops
A two day workshop on tsunami will take place at BRGM in November 2013.Dr Tiziana Rossetto, Mr
Joshua Macabuag and Dr Tristan Robinson will attend the workshop from UCL.
Funding opportunities to be explored for further exchanges/seed funds for projects:
UCL Impact studentships: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/beams/phd/funding/impact
CARNOT funding for French researchers at BRGM
UCL Graduate School research project funding.
Finance
The funds provided have been spent to pay for the travel and subsistence of the French participants (1
night). They have also been spent on lunch and refreshments for all workshop participants during the
workshop and for the workshop dinner. Some funds were spent on printed materials and stationary for
the meeting. The final costs have not yet been calculated as we are awaiting the receipts and expense
claims from some of the French participants. These will be reported in a follow-up e-mail.
Final Remarks
The authors of the report would like to sincerely thank the French Embassy for providing the funds for
the workshop that have provided the opportunity to entertain technical talks with French researchers.
The synergies between the participating institutions have already sparked new and exciting research ideas
and initiatives that will form the foundations for a strong and long-lasting collaboration.